Early Monthly Segments

Prisoners of Conscience by Anand Patwardhan
Guest programmed by Shai Heredia (Experimenta India)

Co-presented with South Asian Visual Arts Centre and introduced by SAVAC Director Indu Vashist (Industani Vee)

Early Monthly Segments is pleased to present two films from mid-1970’s India guest programmed by Shai Heredia juxtaposing the political clampdown on freedom of expression with a government propaganda piece extolling the virtues of the state-imposed Emergency.

An important historical record of a traumatic period in India’s recent political history, Prisoners of Conscience by Anand Patwardhan focuses on the State of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi from June 1975 to March 1977. During the Emergency the media was muzzled, over 100,000 people were arrested without charge and imprisoned without trial. But political prisoners existed before the Emergency and they continue to exist long after it has ended.

“In 1975 a State of Emergency was declared in India. A new wave of discipline and order entered the nation’s life. The 20-point Programme aimed at removing corruption, nepotism and lawlessness on the university and college campuses so that peace and disciple may prevail, and examinations may be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere. The New Wave outlines the benefits that the state of Emergency brought to the student
community.” – from Films Division India catalogue

Programme:
Prisoners of Conscience, Anand Patwardhan, India, 1978, 16mm, 45 minutes, b&w, sound.
The New Wave, Chandrasekhar Nair, India, 1976, 35mm on video, 9 minutes, b&w, sound

Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen Street West
Tuesday June 27, 2017 | 8 PM screening | $5-10 suggested donation

Special thanks to Shai Heredia and Arsenal Distribution, Berlin.

*EMS #98 = July 2017 = TBA*

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